the best soy latte you ever had, and me
by time-failed-us
Summary: Coffee shop AU. Jason is the charming barista with a hidden past, and Reyna is the slightly stressed aspiring lawyer interning at the firm opposite the cafe. Reyna begins talking to a mysterious med student through post-it notes on a pin-board in the cafe; will she rediscover emotions that she gave up on long ago? Percabeth, Gwenkota, Octavian, and Piper appear. Jeyna-centric.
1. the best soy latte you ever had, and me

**Hi guys. It's been way too long without writing fanfiction for me. I've been so busy this year, what with being in 2nd year GCSE, with coursework and exams galore. In fact, I need to be studying for mocks over Christmas, but here I am, writing yet another Jeyna story because of a plot bunny that just grew and grew and grew.**

 **I was inspired by 1oooW0rds' story Café Jupiter, and I've also used the name purely for story purposes. However, I read that story more than a year ago, so this plot is entirely my own and will be very different from any existing Jeyna Coffee Shop AUs out there. I've already outlined the entire plot of this story, and I'm super excited to write the later bits, but bear with me for the slow start _—_ I tried to tell myself to keep it short and sweet but I'm terrible at making things succinct so I spat out thousands of words in one go. Heh.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, and will not do so for the entirety of this story.**

 **By the way, I'll establish early that all chapter titles are song lyrics. Feel free to search them up if you like them. This chapter title, also the story title, is from the Train song Drops of Jupiter, which is pretty much my go-to nostalgic comfort song. It's beautiful.**

 **Hope you enjoy the story!**

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the best soy latte you ever had, and me

 _Reyna is a twenty-three-year-old Yale Law-graduate interning at the prestigious_ Athena Barristers and Solicitors _law firm—she has time for her morning caffeine, but none to chat with the barista behind the counter._

It's her first work day, so of course she has to arrive at the glass-encased office building of her dreams two hours early. She checks her watch; she has to report to Athena, her new boss and only the greatest barrister in the whole of Boston—no, California—at nine. It's just seven in the morning now, and Reyna has already finished scouting out the area around her new workplace, taking notes of all the possible transportation and restaurants and cafés nearby. (She's also taken the subway from her apartment and back at least ten times and clocked the average time it takes to wait for a train as well as take it so she'll never be late to work—this is Athena B&S at stake, for god's sake.)

All there is to do is wait, really. Reyna decides to get her daily coffee. But, since it's only seven in the morning and some chain stores only open at eight, Reyna is left with little choice and little patience. There's only one café that's open at this time of day within ten minutes' walking distance, so she steels her taste buds for the onslaught of possibly stale and morbid coffee that Reyna associates with small, non-chain cafés. She's not normally so against unbranded products, but the Puerto Rican young woman is a force of destruction and irritation without her goddamn coffee. It's one of the many things she holds in such high regard that anything less than perfection is absolutely unacceptable. Reyna treats her work the same way.

Café Jupiter is just across the road from her office complex, and she imagines that she will be able to see the Romanesque lettering of the café's sign from her new workplace. The café exudes a warm, inviting aura, she has to admit. It isn't huge. There's a counter running along the far side, behind which a large coffee machine stands proudly, with all kinds of different syrups and powders and seasonings scattered around it on the polished wooden workplace. Everything is wood in the café, and yet it manages to seem a bit homely—mahogany and oak tones abound in the furniture. Reyna notes with satisfaction the lack of fireplace. That would just be stupid.

Next to the counter is a door which Reyna presumes leads to the staff break room. Along the right side of the café is a bulletin board littered with what she thinks are messages left by customers. The left side boasts a more secluded part of the café with a huge bookshelf, and her mouth waters at the thought of spending lunchtimes with a quiche and a novel. Another corner along the left houses an old television set complete with DVDs and even some cassette tapes. It's probably broken and not functional, but the ring of armchairs and couches and coffee tables around it make it somewhat of a nice addition. The remaining side of the café is the one that faces out to the street, and it is all glass with metal sides and a matching glass-and-metal door.

Reyna gingerly pushes open the door. It's so cliché that a small bell chimes at her entrance, but somehow, it makes the stressed girl crack a smirk. She's greeted with wooden tables and wooden chairs, plaid armchairs and brown leather couches. Reyna takes one look around and already knows where she's going to sit for today—and if she likes the coffee here—for a long time in the near future. She likes establishing routines. They give her a sense of security and stability, which she knows she'll definitely need with the crazy workload of a law intern. Though she tries to tamp it down, a small part of her knows that she's already half in love with the beautiful, homely café with the bookshelf.

The café is still empty, but Reyna walks straight for the counter—sure enough, the chime of the bell alerts the staff to her entering. One of them comes out of the breakroom, but she's too busy scrutinising their selection of pastries and drinks to notice.

"I'll have a large hot soy latte with a double shot of espresso and a plain croissant, please." Reyna's order rolls off her tongue; she says it at least twice a day. But she definitely isn't expecting a smart remark.

"Isn't it a bit counter-effective to order a latte and then ask for a double shot?"

The voice that greets her is a deep one tinged with humour and early morning hoarseness. Reyna feels a pang of irritation—she never gets _questioned_ for her drink choices—and forces herself to look up, but really, she never strikes up conversations with baristas. She's a woman with too much to do and too little time for such indulgences.

But the owner of the voice is a tall boy about her age with blonde hair that is slightly mussed (he must have been dozing off before she came in) and bright, twinkling blue eyes, whose purple Café Jupiter shirt (coincidentally, her favourite colour) doesn't obscure how well-built yet lean he is. His nametag is… covered by a finger?

"I'm Jason," he says, pointing to the neat Times New Roman print. Reyna hopes to the gods that he didn't notice her staring, because that would be terribly unprofessional. As if he can sense her thoughts, he grins and lets out a genuine chuckle. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Can I get your name?"

"Reyna," she shoots back curtly. She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes, because she already knows his type. Handsome, charming and he knows it, with a dimpled cheeky grin that shows all his pearly whites and chiselled facial features that look kind of princely and eyes so blue that you could drown in them. Even his name is pretentious. Jason. He probably makes it his second job to flirt with all the girls who come to this café, and probably doesn't know how to do his actual job.

Her thoughts drive her to say something, anything to break the silence—she feels like she's lost a verbal battle that never really started, but all the same, the lawyer side of Reyna has to have the last word. "You won't be seeing me in the future unless you make that latte well and make it quick," she quips, smoothing a hand along her braid, a nervous habit of hers when she's uncomfortable or impatient. Right now, she's a bit of both.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Jason smiles again, taking her money and turning to start the coffee machine, his hands working with practiced ease and fluidity. Reyna's always enjoyed watching confident baristas doing their jobs—Jason takes over the workbench as if it is part of him, and he obviously knows it like the back of his hand. "There are two reasons why people love Café Jupiter: we've got the best soy latte you ever had, and me."

He says this so matter-of-factly that Reyna barks out a scoff, shaking her head in disbelief. She's yet again reminded of why she doesn't take it upon herself to talk to baristas. However, before she can condemn Jason and reconsider her feelings about Café Jupiter, a paper cup is placed on the counter in front of her.

"Your large hot double-shot soy latte and plain croissant," Jason grins, looking a little too smug for someone just doing his job. Reyna's pleasantly surprised at how fast he is, and takes a good long sip of her drink.

The liquid is smooth and just the right temperature—not scalding, but still a little hotter than warm—the soy milk is detectable but not too beany, and the coffee is rich, slightly bitter. Just the way she likes it.

Reyna can't help the smile that comes from a delicious coffee. Taking her things, she makes herself comfortable in the corner seat on the right, next to the glass window so she can stare out into the street. After all, she's going to be coming here twice a day for the foreseeable future.

As she reaches for her croissant, something catches her eye. The insulating sleeve on her paper cup has something drawn on it in thin black marker pen. It's a doodle of her, a cartoon girl with a braid and a grumpy expression. A speech bubble quotes: "MAKE IT QUICK!" alongside her name in the same messy cursive scrawl. She's impressed; he's probably the first barista to have spelled her name correctly on the first try.

Reyna looks up and catches Jason's eye. He winks. "The best soy latte I ever had—maybe," Reyna mutters to herself. "But I wouldn't come back here for the cute coffee guy."

When her coffee is drained and her watch reads 8:45, Reyna gets up to leave, her heart hammering hard in her ribcage. Jason comes over to clear up her plate.

"Where you going?" he asks casually. He's friendly. Too friendly for her taste.

"Work," she replies, jerking her head awkwardly at the building opposite. "First day."

Jason seems to understand immediately, and his eyes shine with something akin to admiration when she indicates the esteemed law firm. "Good luck," he offers with a smile that stabilises Reyna's heart for a second. She nods back in thanks, pushing the heavy door open.

"See you tomorrow, Reyna."

* * *

 **Always looking forward to reviews, follows and favourites! Thanks for getting so far. Coffee shop AUs aren't rare, but I hope you like my take on it. There's going to be major drama and more interesting plot lines later, have patience!**

 **Merry Christmas, everybody. Or happy Hanukkah!**

 **time-failed-us**


	2. you walk into the room

**Wasn't going to update so early for the fear that I'd start posting faster than writing (which happens way too often, unfortunately), but thanks to some amazing reviews, I couldn't wait! Thanks especially to 1oooW0rds, and to the many Guests that I can't reply to. This is for you.**

 **One more thing before we get to chapter 2—I won't usually write two chapters that have similar content but from two perspectives, because let's face it, that's boring. This one will probably be the only one, and I'm doing it to establish Jason's character and his first impression of Reyna, which is quite important to the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

you walk into the room (girl you know you got it)

 _Jason is used to pretty girls walking into Café Jupiter, but for some reason, this one's different._

He's twenty-four and at the top of his game. He doesn't really _need_ to work at the café part-time. Those student loans don't pay themselves, but Jason's already tried putting himself out in the working world—and got swamped with job offers as a result.

Still, he chooses to work at Café Jupiter, because his favourite aunt Sally needs a little help in the morning and evening, which is the coffee shop equivalent of prime-time rush hour. She's working on her second book, and Jason is so proud of her, as is his cousin (and her son) Percy. The boys are more than willing to carry some weight around the café and the house for their beloved pseudo-mother (well, she's Percy's actual mother, but for Jason, she's the closest thing to family), in return for home-cooked dinners instead of college cafeteria food every night.

The bell rings much earlier than usual, and it's a Monday and Jason should be napping in the breakroom as is his God-given right to do so on Mondays at seven o'clock. He's pulling typical grad student all-nighters on weekends, so he's just slightly (super) grouchy when there's a customer (the café may be open at 6:45, but shouldn't people have the respect to know that it really means "feel free to come in starting from eight"?).

He walks out and is half ready to yell at the customer. He isn't even bothered with the bits of blonde hair that stick up—if they have the audacity to disturb his peace and rest, then they're not worth looking nice for. But he isn't ready for the sight that greets him.

In front of the counter is a Latina-looking girl with tanned olive skin that glows ethereal in the light and a silky mane of impossibly black hair twisted into a side braid that falls over her shoulder onto her midriff. She's preoccupied with the pastry display but he notices dark, dark eyes and long, long lashes; soft cheekbones and a sharp nose and perfectly shaped brows, one of which is cocked slightly in thought; a delicate but accentuated jaw line and, lastly, full lips. She's wearing a black short-sleeved dress that seems to wrap around her body, with a thick royal purple belt around her waist.

She orders her drink like a queen ordering her servants to do her bidding—the way she talks, the way she carries herself, is regal and graceful. But Jason can't just let her breeze by, and before he can stop himself, he forms a witty retort even when she isn't asking for one.

He almost laughs at the incredulous, disbelieving look on her face. He can feel her gaze on him, sizing him up like an opponent in a battle. His skin seems to heat up as she blatantly stares, and Jason gets the queer urge to look away when she meets his eyes. She looks like she doesn't understand why he's talking back to her, why he's _questioning_ her. It isn't weird that he finds that a little bit endearing, is it?

He learns that her name is Reyna. How apt for someone so queenly. She's tough, he can tell, not someone to be messed with, and her eyes shine with intelligence and depth. Reyna is definitely someone he wants to see around more often, he decides, and not just because she's beautiful.

Because Jason has seen his fair share of pretty faces for the past few months he's worked in Café Jupiter. There's Drew Tanaka, the stunning Japanese socialite and fashion blogger who is definitely above small, quaint little cafés and sweet-talks his ear off every time he so much as looks at her. There's shy Lacy who plays with her long brown Rapunzel hair, squeaking instead of speaking. Every day, Jason finds himself getting checked out by a multitude of gorgeous girls… and Nico, who used to have a crush on Percy. Now, Percy teases Jason about looking exactly like Nico's dream guy—blonde, tall, athletic, blue-eyed. But though he likes the attention, he's not really interested to pursue relationships with any of his "admirers". In fact, he's probably more likely to hook up with Nico than Drew Tanaka, even though the Italian has already clarified with Jason that he's not romantically interested.

Jason may look like a bit of a player, and he sure does like to flirt here and there and make use of his looks to get close to attractive women, but inside, he's a one-girl kind of guy. He just hasn't found his one girl yet.

When Reyna says that she might not return, Jason has to fire back in the only way he knows how—with a bit of flirty wit. For a second, he feels a jolt of fear at the thought of never seeing her again, so he channels that into making the best soy latte he's ever made. When he's done, he slips on the sleeve that he already wrote her name on. It seems a bit empty in comparison to the whirlwind that is Reyna, so Jason channels his inner artist—the teenage Jason who used to doodle in the margins of his school books and sketch the colours of the skies on the roof—and draws a sloppy but well-meaning caricature of the slightly stressed, slightly uptight girl who interrupted his Monday morning nap.

He feels a bit smug when she looks surprised at how fast he is. He hopes she can't see his apprehension, because he's known this girl for a total of five minutes and talked to her for three, but he's already scared to lose her. He's even more scared for her reaction to his doodle. What if she hates it? He's already starting to regret his impulsiveness.

Reyna's face changes immediately when she tastes the coffee—her eyes flutter and he traces path of the liquid as it slides down her throat. She smiles for the first time, and she's even more beautiful. It's a small smile, but it lights up her entire face, and Jason's floating even though he knows she's really just smiling at her coffee cup.

He tries to concentrate on his preparations for the real start to Café Jupiter's day, busying himself with checking the register and preheating the microwave and grabbing the freshly-baked delivered pastries from where he left them in the breakroom. Every once in a while, his eyes drift back to Reyna of their own accord. She's sprawled out on an armchair in one corner, messing with a bunch of papers and sipping her coffee, looking out of the window whenever someone passes by. She's totally in the zone, and he can tell that that spot is going to be _Reyna's_ from now on, whether she is physically sitting there or not.

One hour of bliss passes. Too soon, she's packing up her things and checking her watch—Jason sees her frantic expression past the cool, collected exterior she keeps. She's touching her braid a lot and accidentally almost pushes her crumb-filled plate off the table, but saves it just in time; quick reflexes, Jason notes. He wants to console her, and ends up learning that she's interning in the prestigious Athena Barristers and Solicitors firm just opposite—he's delighted that she'll be somewhere close by all the time, no matter how creepy that sounds.

He's a little bit miffed when she replies to him very curtly, but he forgives her because she's clearly stressed and worried. So he wishes her good luck. Her shoulders relax a bit when he smiles at her reassuringly.

"See you tomorrow, Reyna." It's a question, and a plea. She doesn't say anything, just nods in acknowledgement. But the fact that she doesn't say no gives Jason hope.

There's something special about Reyna. It's as if she's been hurt before and she's trying to hide it; she's strong and sharp and a fighter, building up her walls to protect her broken heart.

Maybe they have something in common there.

* * *

 **Baby cliffhanger? I don't know. Next chapter we go back to Reyna and her first day at work. As always, leave a short review to stimulate my creativity ;)**

 **Also, check out The Definition of Perfection while you're feeling the Jeyna feels, which I'll be updating soon.**

 **time-failed-us**


	3. all the lonely souls try to keep control

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for all the support, whether you've reviewed or followed or favourited this story. It's awesome to see the positive reaction to it, and I appreciate every single one of you :)**

 **It gets to a slow-ish start. Establishing characters and setting isn't something one can accomplish in a chapter, I'm afraid. Enjoy.**

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all the lonely souls try to keep control

 _Reyna settles into her new routine perfectly. She loves everything about her job, apart from one very irksome Harvard Law graduate._

Athena B&S is absolutely a dream come true for her. She's just an intern, so she doesn't get an office just yet; instead she's stuck in the bullpen with all the other interns and junior associates. The bullpen is rather mundane and disappointing, with cramped compartments only furnished with a desk, a computer, a file cabinet and a chair, and dozens of aspiring young lawyers milling about. But Reyna, who never lets herself be too optimistic, sees it as an opportunity. It's her new life, and she's going to take the bull(pen) by the horns.

Reyna has long ago perfected the art of pushing down doubts and fears in favour of strength and determination. Still, she recognises a lot of these fresh graduates—they're all from the best law schools in the world, and she's definitely seen a few of them multiple times in the law circuit. And she's just a little bit _intimidated_.

* * *

The moment she steps into the building is one she'll never forget—Athena Chase, the best lawyer in the entirety of California, greets Reyna in person.

"Miss Ramirez-Arellano?"

Reyna halts in her step, still feeling frazzled because the building is _huge_ and she's done all the research she could have done about the firm, but she's totally and utterly _lost_. She's in the middle of chastising herself for the thousandth time for not doing a tour of the building before today, when a sharp voice interrupts her thoughts.

Reyna turns around so quickly that her braid whips up and hits her cheek—she tries not to blink. God knows she has already embarrassed herself enough. In front of her is none other than Athena Chase herself, in all her six-foot-tall glory, raven mane swept up into a chic up-do and impossibly high pumps clacking authoritatively on the marble floor. Paired with a body-hugging white dress and a Chanel handbag, the woman looks like she just stepped out of a magazine—Reyna's favourite magazine, _The Boston Legal_. She even pronounces Reyna's name perfectly, rolling the R's in just the right places in a perfect Spanish accent. Reyna might be dreaming.

Athena looms over the Puerto Rican's rather average height. The older woman exudes an air of authority and calm, her every motion demanding respect. Reyna takes one look at her and knows that she'll do anything to gain this woman's approval. Unfortunately, Reyna has already embarrassed herself multiple times in the past two minutes. She's not even at the right place, and it's five minutes to nine, and oh god— _Athena had to come find her, a measly, incompetent intern, in those ungodly heels!_

"Yes, that's me," Reyna finally manages to get a grip on her vocal chords. She's half in awe, half ashamed, but pulls herself together enough to offer Athena a handshake. "Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs Chase."

Athena smiles down at Reyna. Reyna feels like she's being blessed by a goddess.

"Please, call me Athena. Like Beyoncé, I'm not a fan of surnames." Athena's handshake has an air of finality, and Reyna fantasises that she seals all her settlements with opponents using the same firm handshake.

Athena steps aside. For the first time, Reyna notices a blond standing so closely behind the lawyer extraordinaire that he could be her shadow. He has blue eyes just like Jason, but they are icy and cold instead of friendly and bright. His hair is combed and styled neatly, almost too neatly. His features are sharp, and Reyna notices how his eyes keep flitting around, left and right and up and down, as if he's always on guard.

He looks her up and down, and Reyna gets a weird feeling, as if he's combing her over to see all her weaknesses. She looks back at him defiantly, cocking a brow to challenge him, but all he does is sneer back.

"This is Octavian Arlington, the other intern. He is a Harvard Law graduate. Octavian, this is Reyna, of Yale Law." Athena does a quick introduction, then swiftly starts to walk. The two interns follow.

Octavian insists on walking just a step ahead of Reyna at all times, and she already knows they're going to hate each other. There's an air of superiority in the way he looks down at her (he's not that much taller than her though), but it's not anything Reyna isn't used to. She'll just have to prove him wrong.

What kind of name is Octavian, anyway?

* * *

Athena gives them a quick tour of the premises, pointing to glass-walled offices and naming partners of the firm. Reyna already knows all of their names, but it's still a thrill to see them in action. All the while, Athena tells them about their responsibilities and what she expects of them.

It kind of sucks that she's a new intern and that means a lot of paperwork and shadowing and filing. Still, no one will hear Reyna complain. Never. One day, she'll be sitting in her own office with the best view of the city streets below. She already has an idea about how she wants to furnish the space, because Reyna's a planner, and she thinks ahead by a factor of years.

They pass by a conference room. One day, she's going to be an established litigator, and she'll be the one sitting there opposite opposing counsel, staring their client down and producing file after file, rattling numbers off by memory and making them quake with fear.

She catches Octavian looking longingly at one of the bigger offices, currently belonging to a senior partner, Lester Chiron. She thinks that maybe she and the flamboyantly named scrawny blond with the hollow cheeks aren't so different after all. But in the dog-eat-dog world of corporate law, that doesn't mean potential friendship. That means war.

"Here we are. Welcome to the bullpen, my newest interns. This is where you will be working your butts off for your seniors. Anyone can ask anything of you, so remember that you are currently at the bottom of the hierarchy. You cannot refuse anything. You cannot push any of your work onto someone else. You have to meet all deadlines, and hand in documents yesterday. Mistakes will not be condoned. This isn't elementary. Good luck, Reyna, Octavian—I have high expectations of you, and I hope you will not disappoint me."

Athena points at two empty compartments next to each other. "Those two are for you. Before you, there were two senior associates in those places. They were dismissed for filing a document in the wrong place and severely endangering an important case. Let it be a lesson to you that no one is untouchable."

Reyna nods solemnly, taking all Athena's words to heart. She doesn't make rookie mistakes, and they definitely deserved to be fired for jeopardising a case. She knows that the same thing will never happen with her. "Thanks for the tour, Athena. I won't let you down."

"Good. I will be checking on you intermittently. Work will come your way soon, but if no one seeks you out personally, there's a drop-off box near the printers where our lawyers put documents that need to be finalised or errands that need to be run. I expect it to be empty at the end of each workday."

Athena smiles at them one last time, then stalks away. Out of the corner of Reyna's eye, Octavian's mouth twists into something ugly.

"Kiss-ass, aren't you?" he says as they settle into their compartments. They're directly opposite each other, and if she stands up, she can see over the wall separating them and into his workspace. "Of course you are, you're from _Yale_."

Reyna feels a flash of anger. "What do you mean, _I'm from Yale_?" she questions, voice a little tighter than usual. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no," Octavian replies slowly, sarcastically, talking to her like she's a five-year-old who doesn't understand. "It's just that you're obviously using flattery to get Athena to like you because you don't have much merit elsewhere. Take it from me: she doesn't give a shit, even if you kiss the ground she walks on. Too many people do it already."

His tone makes Reyna want to wring his neck. "You think Harvard's so much better than Yale, don't you?" she smirks with something dangerous burning within her soul. "Well then why did Athena study at Yale instead of your alma mater? She doesn't seem like someone who likes being number two to me. Or, perhaps, it _just might_ be because both law schools are _equally as good_."

Octavian barks out a short, incredulous laugh. _Alright, let's play_ , Reyna thinks, already in full battle mode. She's exactly where she belongs, and she's earned it with long, hard hours of studying and exams. Reyna is not about to let a scrawny blonde rat ruin that.

Unfortunately, because she's in a public setting, she can't exactly draw her dagger on him. Yes, she keeps a dagger with her at all times. It has an eagle insignia on the handle and a beautifully balanced blade—it's lightweight and short, but can definitely injure a person in self-defence. Reyna's mother gave it to her before she died, before her father _changed_ , and it brings back terrible memories. Despite that, it's still one of her most precious possessions, always kept in her handbag or in a sheath against her thigh.

The weight of the dagger reminds her that she is strong; she can fight whatever the world throws at her a second time.

Reyna smiles to herself, and the thought of stabbing Octavian alone already manages to calm her raging distaste for him slightly. She immediately sets to work, grabbing a large pile of files from the overflowing trolley.

Octavian is right behind her. Hot breath fans over the back of Reyna's neck, and her muscles tense with discomfort. His hand snatches a pile of paper before she even retracts hers. Their eyes meet, a battle of ice and obsidian.

It seems as though she has a challenge on her first day.

* * *

Lunchtime comes; Reyna barely looks up from her pile of papers. She orders takeout with UberEats, spooning mouthfuls of Pret soup into her mouth as she types furiously at her computer. The clickity-clack of other hardworking interns in the bullpen provides a strangely comforting backdrop to her own work—the sounds fuse together in a peaceful hum. She almost forgets about Octavian, so immersed in the various affidavits and case materials is she.

"How's work?" Octavian's grating voice suddenly bursts Reyna's happy bubble. Her eyes flick upwards and there he is, peering at her over the compartment wall separating them—it's too thin and too short, she thinks.

"Going well," she replies cordially, purposefully flicking onto the next page of her document loudly and eyeing the pile of finished work to her right. "And you?"

Octavian's gaze flickers with doubt when it alights on her growing achievements. "I'm good," he replies. "Hungry."

"You haven't had lunch?" Reyna's mother hen instincts kick in. Her whole life, she's had to take care of herself, which has manifested into caring too much about the little things. "You can't work on an empty stomach." Despite her thoughtful words, she's not a fan of Octavian, so her voice comes out sharp and clipped; accusatory.

He sighs a bit, and it's the weakest she's seen him. Reyna likes to play fair and win fair—otherwise, the victory seems sour. So she coughs a little as if to rid herself of a metaphorical uneasiness of liaising with the "enemy", and says, "there's a café just opposite, you should go grab a wrap or something."

Octavian looks surprised at her kindness. His eyes narrow as if he doesn't comprehend what she's playing at, but then his stomach growls quietly, so he nods a thanks and leaves in a rush. Thinking about Café Jupiter gets Reyna thinking about the amazing coffee. It takes a minute for her to pull her mind away from the temptation of the best soy latte she's ever had.

 _Focus, focus, focus._ Her brain chants a steady rhythm. Though she really meant well when she told Octavian to get some food, a small part of her is glad that she gets a few extra minutes to try to finish some more work. She has to win their little game today. She must. Reyna knows that this is the golden chance for her to prove to Octavian that she's worthy, and even if she couldn't care less about what the scrawny blond thinks of her, this is undoubtedly going to tip the scales in her favour if she wins. No one likes being thought of as undeserving; inferior.

* * *

Octavian comes back bearing gifts. Most of them are for himself, and he looks like he's glowing with the way he's chewing his chicken Caesar wrap in awe. Reyna almost thinks he looks human.

The spell is broken when he dumps the various paper packages of snacks unceremoniously on his table—Reyna flinches with the total disrespect for the delicious Café Jupiter food and the messiness of his desk.

"Ramirez, I've got something… for you," Octavian says, startling the focussed girl. He looks equally disgruntled himself as he holds the cup at arm's length, as if the thought of holding anything belonging to Reyna is disgusting. Reyna takes the cup, intrigued. She wants to take a sip, but since Octavian is the one who gave it to her, she eyes the drink warily.

He rolls his icy eyes at her. "Don't be ridiculous, Ramirez," he says offhandedly. "It's not from me. That barista told me to pass it to you when I mentioned that I work here."

Reyna frowns. She doesn't know of any baristas who give her drinks when she doesn't ask for them, or any that know where she works and who she works with. This is kind of worrying and stalker-like, she thinks, still pondering whether or not to drink the warm beverage or not. She turns the cup around in her hands.

And there it is—she almost snorts with the unbelievableness of it all. There on the sleeve is a marker-pen doodle, this time a not-so-flattering one of Octavian. The speech bubble reads: "I said HOT, not _LUKEWARM_!" next to a message saying: "I'm sorry you work with this guy :/".

Reyna doesn't even have to compare the handwriting with the one on the coffee cup sleeve from this morning. Yes, she kept it. It's her first coffee cup cartoon, after all. She slips the sleeve off her drink and tucks it safely in her handbag, taking a sip to hide her smile from the oblivious Octavian.

Sure enough, it's the best soy latte she's ever had.

* * *

 **Yay! I'm so excited to introduce Octavian (do you hate or love him?) and Jason makes a cameo appearance behind the scenes.** **In the next chapter, we move on into another character's point of view and their story... any guesses as to who it may be?**

 **Thanks again to those who have reviewed, and hopefully we can get some more on this chapter?**

 **Guys, I have exams soon, so I won't be able to update as frequently. However, I will update my other story, The Definition of Perfection (the next chapter is super long and I'm really proud of how it came out). I also have a few one-shots planned, and will be publishing at least one of them in the dry spell that is exam week.**

 **Happy early New Year! :) it's been a wild ride. Thank you all so much for being my inspiration, and I'm definitely hoping to write more next year. Have a good one with your families and friends, and here's to yet another year of combining our love for fictional characters and our passion for reading/writing.**

 **time-failed-us**

 **(If you want more Jeyna/PJO content, find me on Tumblr at donot-notdothis dot tumblr dot com I usually just reblog stuff, but...)**


	4. cause we've no time for getting old

**Hey guys. Thank you so much to the kind people who reviewed, followed and favourited. I see all of you and am grateful for the support. New chapter because mocks are over and I have a short break! Hope you enjoy the chapter. See you at the end.**

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'cause we've no time for getting old

 _Percy really hates Boston. He also kind of hates Annabeth right now._

Percy screams really loudly into his pillow and punches his bed and kicks his blanket because he's angry. Like, seething, pissed, mad, boiling, seeing red. He's angry at his stupid girlfriend; he's angry at all the stupid people in the entirety of Boston, Massachusetts; he's angry at stupid geography; he's angry at his stupid professor.

There's a simple reason for this very long chain of anger. Percy has a ten-page assignment due in exactly one hour and thirty-seven minutes, of which he has finished about three pages. It's on his worst subject, too—some crap about the importance of algae. Seriously, though. Algae. To Percy, algae is just a very misleadingly-spelled word for sea mould that exists for the sole purpose of torturing poor souls like Percy who chose to study marine biology at Harvard University because Lucifer thought it a suitable punishment for their multitude of negligible sins.

Oh yes, Percy has discovered the amazing show called Lucifer on FOX, and it's also one of the reasons why he has procrastinated so much on this assignment.

But binge-watching Lucifer and cursing his wifi for having such shitty connection that keeps on timing out isn't the main cause of his ire. In fact, it can be argued that the source of all the pain in Percy's life as of this very moment can be traced back to the moment he met a certain blonde.

Not Jason. That's a long story for another day.

The blonde's name is Annabeth Chase, a.k.a. Percy's girlfriend. Tall, statuesque, intelligent and drop-dead gorgeous, in Percy's opinion. Grey eyes, untameable wavy hair, t-shirts, form-hugging jeans, and a very large dose of know-it-all.

"Annabeth, _answer_ , goddammit," Percy groans, slamming his phone down for the fifteenth time, then proceeds to pick it back up to check all his social media apps to see if she's replied to his messages on any of them. Unfortunately, she hasn't even opened any of his thirty Snapchat pictures. Reflecting on this, he probably shouldn't have spammed her. Knowing Annabeth, she might be awake but just ignoring him to make a point—she hates when he goes crazy with social media because her old phone that she can't bear to throw out because she's grown way too attached to its ancient interface can't process too much and just lags.

One hour and thirty-three minutes left. It's now ten twenty-seven at night in California. One twenty-seven A.M. in Boston, where Annabeth is. Percy has probably never known Annabeth to be asleep so early—she's way too hardworking to let sleep get in the way—but if there ever was a good time to heed his pleas for her to take care of herself and let things work out the way they are meant to, then it's definitely the day Percy desperately needs her advice on a paper that's worth at least ten percent of his final grade. He groans again in despair, staring blankly at his computer screen.

"Shut up!" A muffled voice penetrates the wall of Percy's room, coming from the opposite side of the hall. It's Jason, Percy's cousin and roommate. They live closer to Café Jupiter than they do to Harvard, a decision that Percy made so that he wouldn't be constantly surrounded by frat parties and horny guys. He still keeps his dorm room on campus, though, because it came with the swimming scholarship.

It's still a miracle to him and his mother Sally that Percy, never the top of his class, got into Harvard, and on a scholarship, too.

Percy hears a thud and a sigh, then the thumping of feet on the floor. Jason's messy blond head appears at Percy's doorway.

"It's ten thirty, Perce, and I'm exhausted. For once I don't have to study or pull an all-nighter for work. Can you please just shut the fuck up and stop with your groaning so I can get some rest?" Jason's voice is grumbly and the blond is clearly annoyed, but Percy only grins.

"Yeah, cuz, you desperately need some beauty sleep. Look at you," he teases.

Jason smirks, blue eyes sharpening. "Look at me," he echoes, gesturing to his shirtless torso, all toned, lean muscle. "If I still need beauty sleep, then you, cuz, need beauty _hibernation_."

Despite his dire situation, Percy lets out a guffaw. Jason sighs again, noticing the bags under his black-haired cousin's eyes, and with one mighty leap, lands on Percy's queen-sized bed in a graceful belly-flop hailing back to his high-school quarterback days.

"Okay, what's up? I'll tell you what's up. Me. So since I'm not falling asleep again anytime soon, mind telling me why you're moaning like it's the first time you've seen Annabeth in years?"

Percy gasps dramatically, hurling a punch at Jason's arm, which the blond deftly dodges. "You know that she's the loud one."

"Anyway," Jason rolls his eyes, "do you need help or what?"

"Not really. I don't know. I have a paper due in an hour and a bit."

"Well, are you having problems with research?" Jason prods.

"No… no. I know all there is to know about _charophyta_ and _chlorella_ and their places in the marine ecosystem," Percy frowns.

"So you're having trouble with writing all of it down coherently?"

"Give me some credit. I'm literate as hell."

Jason collapses into the blankets. "Then what, pray tell, is keeping you and I awake at this ungodly hour?"

"It's not even eleven yet, you baby."

"Percy." Jason sobers up, all mirth gone. He sits up and regards Percy inquisitively, his gaze unwavering, insightful. "Seriously, man. Tell me what's really going on here. We both know it isn't about algae."

Percy lets his head hit the wall. "I don't know, it's just—sorry I kept you up. You can't help me. I need Annabeth."

Jason's brows lift comically in a _eureka_ moment. "There it is. It's Annabeth! You miss her, don't you?"

"Of course I miss her!" Percy shrieks, throwing his arms up. "It's been three months, goddammit, since the last time we were together in person. Three months since she finished that internship with that Daedalus guy, three months since the day she should have found a job and moved back to Cali."

"It's not her fault—"

"I know it isn't! I'm not pissed at her. It's the goddamn ignorant people in Boston! Annabeth is a first honour MIT architecture and structural engineering graduate and has interned for one of the douchiest, best professionals out there, but somehow no one's lining up to offer her a stupid job?"

Jason nods calmly, letting Percy's yelling die down. "Can I speak now?"

"Please do."

"You're calm?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Here's what I think. You need to give her some more time to figure out her chances in Boston. Annabeth may be an idealist when it comes to achieving her dream, but she's not naïve. If she's exhausted all possibilities, she'll look for opportunities elsewhere. That's when you come in. She might fare better in Cali, which is where the big business is at. So, the plan is, you find some time to have a long talk with her about where she's headed and where you two are going. In a few months, if she still hasn't found a job, when she's ready to move on, you can try convincing her to move to Cali and live with us."

"A few months?" Percy mumbles. Jason can't believe that that's the only think Percy took away from his monologue.

"Yes. You know Annabeth."

Percy finally gathers the strength to sit up, pulling his laptop back onto his lap. He looks his cousin in the eye, and feels a wave of gratitude for finding Jason course through his heart. "Sounds like a plan."

Jason goes back to his room shortly after. With a little less than an hour left until midnight, Percy finishes his paper on his third favourite aquatic plant and submits it with one whole minute to spare. That night, both Percy and Jason sleep soundly, dreaming of two different people.

It comes as no surprise when the paper scores an A.

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 **Did anyone guess that the new POV would be Percy's? Bromantic!Jercy is the best. Also, Annabeth is introduced. She'll come in at a later date.**

 **Another big thank you and all my love to those who reviewed my one-shot: high hopes (takes me back to when we started). It means a lot, because I honestly poured my heart into that piece. Writing it made me cry, so I hope it can also touch other people who understand Reyna's feelings through experiences of their own, which was one of the reasons that I fell in love with writing her character.**

 **Again, drop a short review to spur my creative inspiration :)**

 **time-failed-us**


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